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Native pollinators alone provide full pollination on small-scale commercial cranberry (Ericaceae) farms

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 September 2019

Geena Arul Jothi  and
Julie Sircom Open the ORCID record for Julie Sircom [Opens in a new window]
Geena Arul Jothi
Affiliation:
Crop Sciences Division, Bayer Canada, 900, One Research Road, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3T 6E3, Canada
Julie Sircom*
Affiliation:
School of Science and the Environment, Grenfell Campus, Memorial University of Newfoundland, P.O. Box 2000, Corner Brook, Newfoundland and Labrador, A2H 6P9, Canada
*
1Corresponding author (e-mail: [email protected]).
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Abstract

Cranberry (Vaccinium macrocarpon Aiton (Ericaceae)) requires insect pollen vectors to maximise fruit yield. In many areas, commercial producers use managed bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae) to supplement native pollinators. On the island of Newfoundland, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, due to the small number of available honey bee hives and import restrictions on commercially reared bumble bees, the use of supplemental pollinators is rare. Four farms were studied for two years to identify key pollinators and determine the relationship between fruit yield and bee abundance. The most commonly collected bees were species of Bombus Latreille (Hymenoptera: Apidae), which buzz-pollinate and are likely the primary pollinator on these farms; thus, fruit yield was examined with respect to total Bombus abundance. Stigma loading was also used as a measure of pollinator effectiveness. Contrary to expectation, there was no relationship between Bombus abundance or stigma loading and either fruit set or weight, but there was significant year-to-year variation. Other factors were likely more important in determining yield, and further research is needed to identify those. Under current conditions, native bees provide ample pollination services for maximal yield.

Type
Behaviour and Ecology
Information
The Canadian Entomologist , Volume 151 , Issue 6 , December 2019 , pp. 745 - 756
Copyright
© Entomological Society of Canada 2019 

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Footnotes

Subject editor: Shelley Hoover

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